Friday, May 31, 2013

We've just discovered that famous French cat Pompon has a weakness for Calissons d'Aix, a traditional provençal confection made from a fine paste of melon confiture (or other fruits) and ground almonds, flavored with orange water and glazed with icing on a thin biscuit. Its diamond shape represents a weaving shuttle.

Vocabularyveritable: real, genuineavoir une faible pour les sucreries: to have a sweet toothune navette: here, a weaving shuttle; a shuttle (as in transportation--and not to be confused with un navet or turnip)

Monday, May 27, 2013

A few of the some 50 murals in trompe-l'oeil in Avignon featuring actors and actresses who have left their marks through the years at the international performing arts festival held there. The works are painted by by Dominique Durand and Marion Pochy.

Friday, May 24, 2013

For comfort and emphasis famous French cat, Pompon, poses on an oven mitt to illustrate another great French colloquialism, laissez-le mariner. Let him stew in his own juice.Vocabularymariner: to marinatelaisser mariner: in cookery, leave to marinate; figuratively, leave to stew in one's own juiceune manique: an oven glove or mitt

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

On the way back from a paint store we did a double take when we passed by this well-executed trompe l'oeil in the suburb of Levallois, northwest of Paris, and hurriedly snapped a photo from the car window.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Actually, the expression is "mieux vaut tard que jamais," or "better late than never." This is a photo of kind-hearted friend Sylvia's makeshift nursery for the pollywogs she recently fished out of her swimming pool in the south of France.

Vocabularyun têtard: a tadpole, a pollywogavoir bon coeur: to be kind-heartedune femme au bon coeur: a kind-hearted womanune garderie: a day-care centerune crèche: a nurseryélever: to nurture, to raiseun tantinet: a tad; a tiny bit

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

These are tulips, not peonies
Let there be no mistake about it, these beauties growing in sheltered planters in a small neighborhood shopping center in Versailles are tulipes à fleurs de pivoine, a large double late tulip variety which has peony-like petals.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Famous French cat Pompon--and backseat driver--keeps an eye on traffic coming from the right.

Upon complaining about all of the unmarked intersections in France and the priority to the right rule, I was countered by two Frenchmen who claimed that the driving system was trèslogique...that the rule keeps drivers vigilant about what is to their right. I take this to mean the direction from which a car would most likely be hit in a collision. Of course.

Vocabulary

la priorité à droite: priority to the rightla pédale de frein: the brake pedalralentir: to slow downun donneur de leçons: a backseat driver, literally a giver of lessonstirer les ficelles: to be a backseat driver (to give unwanted advice); literally to pull the strings

Saturday, May 4, 2013

What? Is that the famous French cat Pompon metamorphosed into an ornamental chicken? No, but this fancy white silk collector's chicken, the Gallus Gallus on sale at our favorite country garden store, doesbear a striking resemblance to our favorite feline star, below.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

"Touch me who dares" is a satisfactory translation for the devise of Louis XII, who reigned as king of France from 1498 through 1515.

While a crowned porcupine was Louis XII's emblem, the animal is not exactly the friendliest of figures to use to greet visitors at the front door. This one in faïence is on a lintel of a maison en meulière built by the turn-of-the-20th-century Versailles architect, Léon Bachelin.

Vocabularyun porc-épic: a porcupinefrotter: to rubse frotter: to cross swords with or to come against someonepiquer: to prick; to sting; to sew; to pinch (steal)une devise: a devise, motto, watchword, slogan; also a currencyfaïence: earthenware

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Muguet or lilly of the valley in bloom just in time for the first of May. The tradition in France is to give a sprig of the pretty and fragrant plant to friends and family on the first day of May to bring good luck. For more photos and to read a little more about it, see May is Here and It's May!

This dramatic smartphone photo is of a stand growing in friend Sylvia's garden in the south of France. Merci!